Trolley-harp.



J. T. ARCHER,

TROLLEY HARP. v APPLICATION FILED NOV. 18, 1 908.

Patented Nov. 16, 1909.

WV: W

n n'w, a. mum ca. PHDTO-LIMOGMMII.

ED STATES Pgrmvr orrion.

JAMES T. ARCHER, OF CHAMPAIGN, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR OF ONE -IALF TO FRANCIS 1VI. FOLTZ, OF URBANA, ILLINOIS.

TROLLEY-HARP.

SMEQSY I.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JAMES T. ARCHER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Champaign, in the county of Champaign and State of Illinois, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Trolley-Harps, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to trolleys for electric cars, and more particularly to means whereby the trolley wheel is supported, the object of my invention being to provide means whereby the trolley Wheel may have a lateral rotative movement upon a standard to allow it to track or follow the inequalities in the wire or overhead conductor, my invention consisting in providing a trolley arm or harp with a standard rotatable in a plane parallel to the Sll1 )0lt}lil arm, and in providing a spring which will tend to yieldingly prevent the rotation of the arm in either direction and yet will return the wheel to a central position when I the strain has been relieved.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a side view of the free end of a trolley pole with my improved. Wheel attaclnnent thereon; F 2 is a like view in section, the wheel being shown in dotted lines; Fig. 3 is a top view of Fig. 1, the wheel, however, being removed and shown in dotted lines.

Like numerals designate like parts in all of the several views.

1 designates the free end of a trolley pole of any suitable construction, and 2, a standard mounted upon the terminal of the pole, and carrying a Wheel, 3. The standard is bifurcated at its upper end to engage on either side of the wheel, 3, and is provided with the transverse shaft, 4. The lower end of the standard is formed with a head, 5, and with a reduced shank, 6, which extends through the extremity of the trolley pole and is attached to the trolley pole by the nuts, 7. The trolley pole has in its extremity a coneshaped seat, and the shank, 6, of the standard is formed in the shape of a frustum of a cone to fit this seat. This form of seat permits wear to be taken up and the standard at all times drawn snugly down to fit within the seat in the terminal of the trolley pole. The front side of the base, 5, of the Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed November 18, 1908.

Iatented Nov. 16, 1909.

Serial No. 463,283.

standard, is flattened as at 8, so as to engage with a head, 9, mounted on the end of a T-shaped element or plunger, 10. This plunger is surrounded by a coiled spring, 11, which is carried upon the upper face of the trolley pole, and is forced by the spring, 11, against the face, 8, of the head, 5. At the ends of the face 8, the head 5 is formed with corners that are at a greater radial distance from the axis of the stand ard than the center of the said face from such axis, so that as the standard turns in one direction or the other, each of said corners acts as a cam to engage and ride on the fiat face of the head 9, thus placing the spring 11 under tension for returning the standard to normal position and alining the wheel with the trolley wire as soon as the turning pressure on the wheel is re moved.

In order to carry the head, 9, and plunger, 10, I form the upper face of the trolley pole with the guard, 12, which prevents the trolley Wheel coming into contact with cross or guy wires during the movement of the car. Integral with the guard, 12, and the trolley pole terminal, I form the cylindrical cas ing, 13, which incloses the spring, 11. The upper face of the trolley pole, adjacent to the head, 5, of the standard is formed with a longitudinal slot, 14, into which the pin, 15, on the head, 9, projects so as to guide the head and the attached plunger 10 in its movement toward and from the standard and keep said plunger in proper alinement with the trolley pole. By reason of the slot and pin, the wheel-carrying standard can be removed without the follower 10 flying out of the housing 13 under the tension of the spring, since the pin 15 engages the outer end of the slot 1 1, to thus withstand the tension of the spring.

In order to prevent the spring, 11, wearing against the plunger, 10, I surround the plunger with a loose sleeve, 15 with which the spring contacts. The pin 15 strikes the inner end of the slot lt to limit the inward movement of the plunger and thereby limit the rotary movement of the standard 2 in either direction.

It will be seen from Fig. 3, that the head,

9, is of a width somewhat greater than the trolley pole terminal, and has a flat contact with the face, 8, of the head, 5, on the wheel standard. It will also be seen that as the wheel is turned into the position shown in Fig. 3 by dotted lines, the face, 8, of the head, 5, will contact with the head, 9, forcing the same backward and compressing the spring 11, and that the wheel will turn laterally, though against the strength of the spring, 11, and that, when the wire or conductor has returned to its normal position after making a curve, the tendency of the spring, 11, will be to return the head to its normal position. It will also be seen that the greater the movement of the wheel laterally, the greater the tension upon the spring. Thus, there is comparatively little pressure upon the wheel to resist a slight lateral movement, but when the wheel .is in the position shown in Fig. 3, there is considerable pressure to resist any tendency of the wheel to move farther or into such posi tion that it cannot be returned by the spring.

My invention is simple, is positive in its operation, and permits the wheel to have all the lateral movement needed in order that it may properly track upon a conductor. At the same time, the wheel is not so loose as to permit it to easily run off the track.

it will be seen that my device permits wear to be constantly taken up; that the heads 5 and 9 take up wear between the standard and the compressing devices, and that the head 9 and its spring are housed and thus protected from engagement with the guy wires of the conductor, thus preventing eitner breaking of the parts themselves, or any tendency of the mechanism to catch upon a trolley or guy wire and tear it loose.

From the foregoing it is thought that the construction, operation and many advantages of the herein described invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art without further description, and it will be understood that various changes in the size, shape, proportion and minor details of construction within the scope of the appended claims may be resorted to without departing from the spirit or sacrificing *any of the advantages of the invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters-Patent, is:

1. In a trolley pole terminal, a rotatable standard mounted in the end thereof and having a base formed with a flat face, a trolley wheel mounted on the standard, a housing formed on the pole terminal, a plunger slidably mounted in the housing and movable at right angles to the axis of the standard, a head formed on the plunger having a flat face engaging the flat face of the base, the follower being slidable on the terminal and limited in its movement by a projection on one of such relatively slidable parts engaging in a slot in the other part, and a spring arranged in the said housing and engaging the plunger for yieldingly holding the same against the standard to resist turning thereof and arranged to return the standard to normal position.

2. In a trolley pole terminal, a rotatable removable standard at one end thereof carrying a wheel, the lower end of said standard being formed wit-h a base having a face transverse to the trolley pole, a housing formed in one piece with the trolley terminal, a plunger located in the housing and provided with a transversely-extending head having a face larger than and contacting with the transverse face of the standard base, a spiral spring surrounding said plunger, means for limiting the movement of the plunger during the turning of the standard and for holding the plunger in place when the standard is removed, and a guard in front of the housing for preventing the guy wires contacting therewith.

3. In a trolley pole terminal, a standard at the end thereof supporting a trolley wheel, and having a base portion provided with a transverse face, a downwardly-projecting hub on the base having centrally-inclined sides and a screw-threaded shank, said hub adapted to engage with the end of a trolley terminal, a plunger mounted on the terminal and having a transverse head formed with a face adapted to contact with the standard base, a spring surrounding said plunger for forcing the head outward against the base, and a housing surrounding the spring, the upper face of the terminal being formed with a longitudinal slot and the plunger head having a downwardly-projecting stud engaging with said slot.

4. The combination of a trolley pole terminal having an aperture and a slot, a wheel-carrying standard rotatably mounted in the aperture, a cam on the standard, a movable element mounted to engage the cam, a projection on the element extending into the slot to limit the movement of the element and thereby the rotary movement of the standard in either direction, and a spring mounted on the terminal and engaging the element to return the standard to and yield ingly hold it in normal position.

In a trolley terminal, a wheel-carrying standard rotatably mounted on the said terminal, a cam on the standard, a T-shaped element mounted on the terminal and having a head normally engaging the cam to hold the standard in central position, means on the terminal for limiting the movement of the element as the terminal turns and thereby limiting the turning of the standard in either direction from its central position, and a spring pressing on the element for ture in the presence of two Witnesses.

JAMES T. ARCHER.

5 returning the standard to yieldingly hold Witnesses:

the same in central position. G. E. HINER, In testimony, that I claim the foregoing S. W. Love.

as my own, I have hereto aflixed my signa- 

